That night, Brooke stood in the middle of the outdoor dojo. Dressed in her training uniform, the silver glow of the moon- a waxing crescent, reflected off of her two katanas and illuminated her features. Grey-gold eyes narrowed as she stared down her opponent, which was a samurai. Not a samurai ranger, but a traditional samurai, such as the ones that were present in feudal japan. The samurai was glowing in transparent silver, as it was made out of symbol power, but, other than that, it looked like the real thing. Armor and all- which Brooke thought the armor would be a nice challenge and was wielding a katana. The samurai and the silver samurai ranger circled each other for a moment, then, Brooke charged.
The samurai's fighting style was different, but Brooke managed. She realized Jayden used some of the same stances, and that made sense, but it was clear that the red ranger had put his own swing, pun intended, on things. Seeing the moves used as how they traditionally were was incredibly different, but Brooke didn't have time to think about it. She just had to win the battle, even though the samurai's strong strikes caused her stance to waver. She just took it as a sign of weakness and kept fighting, returning with her own strikes and swings. The sound of metal colliding with metal filled the outdoor dojo and reverberated off of the wooden walls of the Shiba House. Luckily, the others were asleep, so Brooke didn't have to deal with people telling her to go to bed. Or so she thought.
Blue eyes were trained on Brooke and the samurai, Jayden's mouth turned into a small frown. Not about the way Brooke was fighting, it was clear that she knew what she was doing, but rather the anger behind her swings. He didn't know why she was angry- well, it was more frustration, and it was worrying. Jayden knew he was probably worrying too much- far more than from a leader aspect, but Brooke's moves were almost feral. They were quick, strong, and precise, and the second thought that flashed through Jayden's mind was that it was attractive, in an intimidating, deadly way. The muscles in her arms flexed as she did a backwards handspring, and she landed on her feet, blocking the samurai's katana with both of her own.
However, with the intensity of the swing, it was clear that Brooke lost her balance, falling back. She grit her teeth, raising her katana to protect herself from the samurai's downward swing. Jayden watched as an unrecognizable emotion flickered across her face, her eyes turning pure gold and her upper lip curling around her canines. She did a backward roll, quickly hopping to her feet and rushing the samurai again.
"The ideal soldier." Deker's words rang in Jayden's mind, and his eyes widened slightly. The experimentation- he realized that his father made Brooke into a soldier. He recalled the last few battles and noticed that she seemed to have improved exponentially, but her attacks were angry. Rather than cutting down moogers, she had been stabbing them through the heart. It only happened sometimes- but Jayden had picked up on it. At first, he had brushed it off, thinking it was just her wolf senses, but then she realized that was how she fought. It was a sound way of fighting, but also incredibly unnerving. Looking back on it, Brooke had started to fight that way after she found out her past, and it made sense. But it also made Jayden guilty. He didn't know why, it just did.
Turning his attention back to Brooke, it was clear that she settled into a routine, her face set into an almost emotionless expression. However, she suddenly broke that routine when she did a backwards handspring, throwing one of her katanas in the air. It spun in the air, and as it fell, Brooke kicked it. The sole of her foot connected with the hilt of her katana and the force sent the silver sword hurtling towards the samurai, tip facing towards it. The katana pierced through the samurai's armor, skewering the samurai in the heart. Brooke wasted no time, sprinting over and wrenching her katana out of the samurai's chest.
Letting out a yell, which was more of a growl, Brooke performed to identical sideways slashes. The two attacks successfully cut through the samurai and killed it, the soldier disappearing in a flash of silver. Brooke just stood there for a moment, her chest heaving as she panted. She felt disgusting, her training uniform was starting to stick to her body due to sweat, but she also felt satisfied. Her arms burned, but it was the satisfying after-workout burn, and her katanas disappeared in a flurry of silver particles. Brooke let herself go back into her usual mentality, turning her focus to the world around her rather than her opponent. The smell of smoke and cologne filled her nose, and she heard Jayden's familiar footfalls.
"Red," Brooke breathed, turning to face Jayden. She had a small smile on her face, but it instantly fell as she took in his worried expression. She knit her brows, her eyes flashing. "Is something wrong?" She wondered, crossing her arms over her chest and quirking a brow.
"You're not just a soldier, Brooke," Jayden blurted, and Brooke made a quiet noise of surprise, her eyes widening and flashing. "That's why you're doing this, right?" He asked, and Brooke averted her gaze.
"Wow, you figured that out fast," Brooke joked, but it was barely audible. She sort of… hugged herself, her claws pricking at the skin on her upper arms. She barely felt it, due to them being mostly scarred, and due to the fact she had become almost numb to the pain of her claws cutting her skin. "I feel like I'm falling behind. Since I'm spending so much time on the cage symbol, and- and I'm not even making fast progress on that. I- I just want to… I don't know." She mumbled, avoiding eye contact with Jayden. She didn't want to see his worried expression.
"You're doing fine, Brooke. You're not falling behind, in fact, you're probably training more than Kevin, now." Jayden tried joking, and it seemed to work, because Brooke let out a quiet laugh, lessening her hold on her arms.
"I don't think that's possible," Brooke retorted, her arms falling to her sides. Grey-gold eyes met blue, and she suddenly looked bashful, pink dusting her cheeks. "This might be a selfish request, but, can you stay with me tonight? I- I just need someone around, and Amaris is nice but, yeah." She nervously laughed, her eyes flashing, and Jayden smiled faintly.
"Of course, Brooke," Jayden replied, and Brooke shot him a thankful smile in return, nodding. The pair walked back into the Shiba House, both of them going their separate ways for the moment. Brooke, to go take a shower, and Jayden to go get changed out of his street clothes.
After getting changed, Jayden made his way back to Brooke's room, noticing that her door was slightly ajar. Light was filtering into the hallway from her bedside lamp, and Jayden smiled faintly as he spotted Amaris, the white wolf being curled on Brooke's bed. She was awake, however, and violet eyes turned to the red ranger as he walked into the silver ranger's room, shutting the door behind him.
The smell of coffee and cinnamon instantly filled his nose, and heat rose to Jayden's face as he heard the sound of water coming from the shower. Was it okay for him to be in here? I mean, Brooke did invite him in, but still. The rational and irrational parts of his brain were fighting, and the irrational ones… well, they weren't really befitting of a leader, but Jayden quickly shoved them aside as soon as they formed.
Laughter coming from the bathroom broke Jayden out of his thoughts, and he heard the sound of the water being shut off. "It's alright, Red. Amaris says you look embarrassed," Brooke called through the door, and Jayden shot a glare at Amaris, who flicked her ears in response. Her violet eyes shone with amusement, and he let out a sigh. "Amaris, let Red sit down, I know you're taking up all of the bed," Brooke called again, and Amaris seemed to sigh, the white wolf standing up and hopping off of the bed.
Jayden sat down on the bed, and Amaris instantly hopped back on, laying her head on his thigh. He scratched the fur between her ears, and she closed her eyes in contentment. While Brooke was singing- he could hear her quiet voice through the door, which was cute, he looked around Brooke's room. It was messier than he last saw it, as papers were strewn across her desk, along with a small stack of archives and notebooks. Her doc martens and military boots were in the corner of the room, the leather jacket she usually wore lazily thrown on top on them, and on her dresser was a variety of-
"Sleeping pills? Brooke." Jayden scolded as Brooke opened the door, dressed in a black tank top and a pair of grey running shorts, a deadpan expression on her face. He opened his mouth to retort but stopped himself when he noticed the dark circles and bags that were under her eyes, presumably usually hidden by concealer.
"Listen, I know about the raccoon eyes, Red. It's getting better, I promise," Brooke answered his silent question as she dried her hair with a towel, Jayden just raising his brows. "It was because of Deker and all it that is in the past now. I got those from Ji, anyway, and they didn't do shit." She stated, finishing drying her hair and throwing it over her desk chair. She then padded over to her dresser, picking up a hairbrush and started to brush her hair, quirking a brow at Jayden's expression.
It was a mix of worry and relief, that turned into slight amusement as Brooke struggled to get a knot out of her hair. "Why didn't they work?" Jayden thought aloud, motioning to the sleeping pills, and Brooke let out a heavy sigh as she finished brushing her hair.
"Wolf thing, I think. My body doesn't really allow me to have stuff like that, and it just doesn't work. Either that or I have to double the dose of a lot of stuff, and it's risky playing with sleeping meds." Brooke answered, setting her hairbrush back on the top of the dresser. She then grabbed Jayden's hoodie from where Amaris was laying on it, nudging the wolf some so that she would get off of it.
"I'm sorry," Jayden blurted, and Brooke quirked a brow at him, her eyes flashing. "It's because of my dad that you're not human, and-" He started, but Brooke cut him off after she pulled his hoodie over her head.
"Red, it's not your fault, don't apologize," Brooke stated, nudging Amaris some so that she could sit next to Jayden on her bed. "It never was, and me becoming a shifter was necessary. If not, history would've just repeated itself, you guys would be fighting a war that you lost from the start. It's okay, I've made my peace with it, for the most part. I don't hold anything against you, we were little kids back then. I'm fine, being a shifter is all I've known, really." She reassured Jayden, and he nodded.
Brooke rested his head on his shoulder, and Jayden let her, lazily running his hand through her damp hair. They sat like that for a couple of minutes in comfortable silence, until Jayden spoke again. "You mean a lot to me, and you're not a soldier in my eyes, Brooke. You're Brooke, and that's enough. You're enough." He murmured, and Brooke opened her eyes, a small smile on her face.
It didn't lessen the stress she felt or the feelings of inadequacy, but it was enough. For right now, anyways, and Brooke raised her head from Jayden's shoulder. "Thank you, Red. It means a lot." She replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
--
The next morning, both Brooke and Jayden noticed that the others were acting weird around them both. It seemed that whenever they talked to each other, someone else was always in the room, which was a given, but all the rangers seemed to be giving the silver and red rangers more attention. Brooke had stopped her usual teasings, furrowing her brows as she and Jayden parted, albeit awkwardly. Living with five others gave them little privacy, but they both didn't enjoy the (not so) discreet eavesdropping the others were doing. Even Kevin was in on it, and it was incredibly confusing. Still, the two just tried to ignore it as they went about their mornings like normal. Brooke had holed herself up to work on the cage symbol, so everything was relatively normal in that regard.
The last symbol Brooke had to master- despair, was incredibly difficult and draining. Even more so than the others, and it had a tendency to barely even form. Brooke didn't know if that was due to her just being tired. But she was happy, waking up next to Jayden had made her extremely happy, and that was the first sleep in awhile that wasn't plagued by as many nightmares. Just being in someone's arms made her feel safe. Still, her muscles were sore from her sparring match against the samurai last night, but that was easy to ignore. It meant growth and progress.
"Despair!" Brooke called, and this time, the symbol did form. But it self-destructed, with more force than the others.
In a bright flash of silver, Brooke got slammed against the wall. Pain instantly flared from her back, and slamming on the floor didn't help. Everything went fuzzy, and it was not enjoyable in the slightest. She felt bad- which wasn't great, and Brooke could barely make out the sound of someone opening the door. Everything sounded like it was underwater, and the only way Brooke knew it was Mia and Jayden was because of the respective pink and red on their training sneakers. Her senses weren't even working, her brain was full of radio static, and that was pretty much it. Still, she blinked slowly, and the world came back into focus as she pushed herself off of the ground and into an upright position as Jayden and Mia crouched next to her.
"Brooke! Are you alright?" Mia asked, and Brooke blinked slowly, nodding faintly.
"I hit the fuckin' wall," Brooke mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. Her senses kicked in, and soon she regained her bearings, her eyes flashing. "I really don't know why this one's being so difficult. First time it has stayed in the air and it decides to implode." She complained, and Jayden frowned.
Both he and Mia noticed the bruises that were starting to decorate Brooke's arms, no doubtedly from hitting the floor so many times. However, the pink and red rangers knew it was useless to bring it up because Brooke would just deflect it.
"Why don't you wrap things up for the day," Jayden suggested, and Brooke shot him an exasperated look, which he responded with raised eyebrows. "Training just ended anyway." He added, and Brooke's eyes flashed as she chewed on her bottom lip.
However, before Brooke could say anything, Mia perked up, seemingly getting an idea. "Why don't you two go grocery shopping with me?" She suggested, and Brooke's eyes flashed as she quirked a brow. "There's a new recipe I've been wanting to try, and I need to get the ingredients." The pink ranger explained, and the silver and red rangers didn't have the heart to say no.
"Sounds like a plan." Brooke agreed, and Mia beamed.
--
Jayden had just finished tying his shoes when he heard a knock at his door. It was faint, and he opened the door to find Brooke, who was smiling sheepishly. He quirked a brow at that, and her cheeks flushed pink. It was extremely out of character, and it made Jayden wonder if she had hit her head that hard.
"I was wondering if I could borrow one of your flannels," Brooke explained, her eyes flashing. "I can't find mine- and I'll probably melt in a leather jacket." She explained, and that was the truth. It was now summer in Panorama, and she found that her usual leather jackets were soon making the heat unbearable. Plus, she needed something to cover the bruises on her arms, because she knew from experience that people were rather nosey when it came to things like that. It was also because she just wanted one of Jayden's flannels.
"Yeah, that's fine," Jayden answered, almost too quickly, and he inwardly cringed at that. "Which one do you want?" He asked, and Brooke raised her eyebrows, following him into his room.
"I get a choice?" Brooke questioned, surprise in her tone, and Jayden nodded as he walked into his closet. "Uh, damn, I dunno. Whichever one you have the least emotional attachment to, I guess." She stated, and it wasn't supposed to be a joke, but she heard Jayden's faint laughter.
"I don't really have an emotional attachment to any of them, but here." Jayden walked out of his closet, holding out his dark red and black checkered flannel. Which he didn't choose because of the polaroid of dream world him and Brooke. That wasn't the case at all.
"Thanks, Red. I appreciate it." Brooke thanked, and Jayden smiled faintly as she took the flannel out of his hands and shrugged it on. It reached her mid-thigh, and Jayden watched in amusement as Brooke struggled to roll the sleeves of the flannel up, cursing under her breath. She eventually gave up, and he stepped in, silently helping her. "Thanks," Brooke mumbled, her face flushed pink and her eyes flashing.
Jayden wore a faint smile as he also fixed the collar of the flannel. "Of course," He replied, and Brooke moved her samuraizer to the front pocket of it. "Plus- it looks good on you." He added, and it wasn't the smoothest delivery, but Brooke flushed somewhat, breaking into a small smile.
The two just stood there for a moment, until Brooke motioned to the door. "You ready for another round of being poisoned? Third time's a charm for me." She joked weakly as she and Jayden left his room, Jayden shutting the door behind them.
"I'm really hoping it's not," Jayden muttered in response, and Brooke snorted as they made their way to the front door.
Mia instantly noticed the flannel and discreetly raised her eyebrows at Brooke, who responded by quirking a brow. The pink ranger ignored the silver ranger's silent question and smiled. "Now that we're all here, let's go," Mia stated enthusiastically, and Jayden and Brooke shared a raised eyebrow look.
The three rangers made their way downtown, Brooke and Jayden trailing behind Mia, walking in comfortable silence. Which Mia seemed to notice, looking back at the two, who raised their eyebrows. "You two are quiet." She commented, and Brooke's eyes flashed as she grinned.
"Whaddya wanna talk about, the weather? If so, it's a great day for a picnic- hey, you're mean." Brooke huffed, shooting a playful glare at Jayden, who had playfully shoved her. He responded with raised eyebrows, and she stuck his tongue out at him in response.
"You're really something," Jayden stated, and Brooke snickered. Noticing the fact that Mia was grinning at the pair's usual banter, he furrowed his brows. "Why were you and the others acting weird this morning?" He questioned as they reached the small grocery store, and Mia shrugged, feigning ignorance.
"I have to idea what you're talking about. Just wait here!" Mia called to the pair, and Brooke and Jayden shared a look of mutual annoyance and frustration.
A couple of minutes passed, and Brooke was leaning against a bike rack, watching as Jayden struggled with a gumball machine. He had a disgruntled look on his face as he shook the machine, and Brooke only watched him with a grin. It was incredibly cute, and she realized today was going great. She bit back her laughter as she discreetly recorded Jayden letting out a groan of annoyance, kicking the gumball machine slightly. Brooke stopped the video before he noticed, pulling up her messaging app and sending the video to Casper.
Brooke: red's struggling
Brooke: when a master of war cant work a gumball machine>>>
Casper: ive never seen jayden before and yknow, he looks like a jayden
Casper: are you guys getting groceries? that doesn't seem very "samurai ranger"
Brooke: we got dragged out. mias cooking again
Casper : is she the one whos a bad cook
Brooke: yessir
Casper: it cant be that bad, can it? like you can only fuck up food so much
Brooke: you'd be surprised
Brooke: ill let you know what poison she's planning on making
Casper: please do, im intrigued
Turning off her phone, Brooke tucked it back into her back pocket. Jayden was still struggling with the gumball machine, staring at it with knit brows. He then turned his attention to her, taking in her smile and the way amusement shone in her grey eyes. "You seem awfully happy about this," Jayden grumbled, and Brooke snickered, nodding.
"You're cute," Brooke teased, and Jayden instantly froze. His cheeks and the tips of his ears became matching shades of pink, and he shot Brooke a playful glare, who walked over and poked him on the nose. "I'm just saying, you are." She stated, quirking a brow, and Jayden flushed a deeper shade of pink.
Not that he was complaining, he just didn't know how to react. Jayden just stood there for a couple of moments, taking in Brooke's somewhat smug and teasing expression. He tried thinking of a retort, but luckily, he didn't have to, because Mia walked out of the grocery store.
The pink ranger only had one grocery bag in her hand, which the silver ranger peered at warily. "Just one bag?" Brooke wondered, her eyes flashing as Jayden took the bag from Mia.
"Oysters, chocolate sauce, brussel sprouts," Jayden listed off the items in the bag with a slight grimace. He and Brooke shared a look of concern, the silver and red rangers visibly cringing. "You sure you got everything you need for this recipe?" He asked Mia, who nodded with a smile.
"Sure am," Mia replied confidently, and Brooke made a gagging motion with her finger, Jayden laughing under his breath.
"Sounds uh… unique?" Brooke stated, and her smile was more of a grimace, but Mia paid no mind.
Instead, she noticed that Brooke and Jayden were walking closely together, their fingertips barely touching. Which Mia didn't pry, only grinning slightly. That meant that she and the other's plan was going smoothly. All of the other rangers, even Kevin, who got roped in by Mike, had set up a plan to try to get Brooke and Jayden to act romantically interested in each other. Well, from the five other's point of view, they already were, from the small smiles they shot each other to the way that they were physically affectionate when they thought the others couldn't see them. The rest of the team was trying to figure out if they did have something going on, as the silver and red rangers were secretive.
"The secret is to mix the ingredients in just the right way," Mia explained, and Brooke's eyes widened and flashed gold, shooting a fearful look at the grocery bag Jayden was carrying.
"Explain that to paramedics," Jayden muttered, barely audible, and Brooke snorted as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.
Brooke: oysters, chocolate sauce, and brussel sprouts
Casper: ?
Casper: is that your shopping list or something? if so, what the fuck are you eating
Brooke: mias making *that* for dinner
Casper: wait WHAT
Casper: that's gotta be inhumane
Casper: there's no fucking way
Casper: you gotta be joking
Brooke: im not, I might die tonight & not from a nighlok
Casper: that made me fucking gag
Casper: god im not over that
Casper: like maybe the brussel sprouts and oysters? but that's already pushing it
Casper: the fuckin chocolate sauce
Brooke: we dying tonight, boys
Casper: good fucking luck, wolfie. you're gonna need it
Mia seemed to hear Jayden, just not what he said, because she furrowed her brows at him. "What?" She asked quizzically, and Brooke snorted, tucking her phone into her back pocket again.
"Oh, uh, nothing." Jayden responded quickly, and Brooke grinned and Mia, nodding.
A somewhat playful air surrounded the three rangers, but it soon fell due to Brooke's samuraizer beeping. Brooke instantly pulled the device out of the pocket of her, well- Jayden's flannel, flipping it open. She brought up the small map of Panorama, her eyes flashing. "Near the stadium, and that isn't too far from here." She announced, and the three rangers nodded at each other, sprinting down the streets of Panorama.
The three reached the stadium quickly, them having morphed on the way there. The nighlok was shooting lasers out of its eyes, and civilians were screaming in terror. Still, they all got away rather safely, the pink, red, and silver rangers taking their places.
"Nighlok, that's enough!" Jayden threatened, gaining the attention of the nighlok.
It looked like an armadillo, shell and all, and it had a snout paired with buck teeth. "How dare you talk to me like that! How dare you talk to me at all!" The nighlok scolded in a nasally voice, and Brooke rolled her eyes under her helmet, drawing her katanas.
"Then let's get the ball rolling." Brooke fired back, spinning one katana in her hand and keeping the other pointed at the nighlok.
However, nighlok seemed to be in its own little world, muttering to itself. "Maybe I'll have some fun with these lameos before I take them down." The monster thought to itself, snickering.
"You're the one that's going down, nighlok!" Mia challenged, pointing her spin-sword at the nighlok menacingly.
"Hah! You're nothing but a joke!" The nighlok sneered, turning its back on the three and continuing to think aloud. "Now let's see… what would be the funnest way to mash them to bits?" The monster wondered, and Brooke groaned, tightening her grip on her swords.
"Let's just end this." Brooke urged, and the three rangers ran forward.
"What, you're really going to attack me? Check this out!" The nighlok exclaimed, rolling into a ball. The three ranger's swords clanged against the nighlok's shell, bouncing off of it. "Your swords feel like pillows!" The monster taunted, and Brooke felt pain in her back flare as she got hit by the nighlok and collided with the ground.
Gritting her teeth, she staggered to her feet and went to go fight again, but it was pretty much useless. When Brooke hit the ground for the second time, she just sort of gave up, hearing as the others ran up. She gratefully took Jayden's hand, the red ranger helping the silver to her feet. Brooke then picked her katanas up off of the ground, facing the nighlok again. It had curled up into its ball form and was now just sitting there.
"What's his story?" Mike asked quizzically, motioning to the nighlok.
"It's a ball?" Emily wondered aloud, her voice full of skepticism.
"Don't underestimate it, we can't even penetrate its shell," Jayden warned, he and Brooke sharing annoyed looks through their helmets. This was not the most ideal situation, because while the nighlok gave them trouble, one of them could at least hit the monster. Now that wasn't the case.
The others tried their special weapons and attacks, and they all bounced off of the nighlok's shell like they were nothing. "This is getting annoying!" The monster exclaimed, uncurling from its ball. "Leave now, or you'll need someone to carry you away!" It threatened, and annoyance radiated off of the six rangers.
"None of our attacks worked!" Emily complained, and then the yellow ranger turned her attention to the silver. "What about Amaris?" She asked Brooke, who shook her head.
"She physically can't fight- her claws are dull, and she only knows defensive spells," Brooke explained, and then she knit her brows underneath her helmet, her eyes flashing. "What the?" She muttered, and the five others noticed the civilians.
They were like polar opposites of each other, one man tall and lanky and the other man on the bigger side. The two ran up to the makeshift battlefield, and the nighlok instantly noticed them. The monster turned to the two civilians, letting out a roar that made Brooke wince, even with the extra padding around her ears. The two civilians instantly let out screams of terror and started running away, the sounds giving Brooke a slight headache.
Still, Brooke tried to push through it and focus on the battle and hand, which was rather difficult. As Mike and Emily ran to guide the two civilians to safety, the nighlok rolled back up into its ball form. The monster started rolling towards the four remaining rangers, the silver ranger sheathing a katana and opening her samuraizer. She drew the protection symbol without saying a word, and the nighlok bounced off of the silver shield.
"Thanks, Brooke." Mia thanked as the nighlok hit the ground, Brooke flipping her samuraizer shut.
"It's not a problem, don't feel like getting turned into a bowling pin today," Brooke replied nonchalantly, sticking her samuraizer into the pouch on her belt. She committed the protection symbol to heart quickly, as it did come in handy at times like these.
Brooke then flashed back to her sparring match with the samurai from last night. With enough force, she penetrated the samurai's armor, and she wondered if the same tactic could work with this nighlok. Probably not, but it couldn't hurt to try, right? However, before Brooke could do so, the nighlok's body started greying and cracking, signaling that it was drying out.
"You got lucky- I'm drying out!" The nighlok stated with a sneer, picking itself up off of the ground. "But I'll finish you later!" The monster threatened, running off and disappearing into a crack in a flash of dark red.
The rangers radiated annoyance and frustration, the six demorphing. Brooke said nothing, only scanning the area and hooking her thumbs on the belt loops of her black denim shorts. She let out a heavy sigh, ignoring the throbbing of her back. This only added onto the bruising thanks to the despair symbol slamming her against the wall, and Brooke fought back a tension headache. It was just bad luck, and nothing more.
--
"Nothing gets through his armor!" Mike loudly complained as the six walked back into the Shiba House. "How're we going to fight him?" He asked Jayden, who had a look of annoyance on his face.
It was the type of annoyance that he held when he didn't know something, and it was evident in his voice. "We'll find a way. It's got to have some sort of weakness." Jayden responded, sitting on his usual seat and pinching the bridge of his nose. His body throbbed thanks to the nighlok, and his head throbbed thanks to the tension headache. Ah, the joys of being a ranger.
"May I remind you that not one of our attacks damaged him at all?" Mike retorted, and Brooke wrapped Jayden's flannel tighter around her body.
She took her usual seat next to Jayden, Brooke wearing a slight frown. She chewed on her bottom lip, running through the symbol powers she knew. None of them could break a shell, could they? Brooke's eyes flashed as she ran a clawed hand over her face, sharing a look with Jayden. It was a look of mutual annoyance, but Brooke reminded herself it was just a nighlok. They would get through it, just like they always did.
"Like Jayden said, there must be some crack in its defenses." Ji reminded the team, and a figurative lightbulb went off over Kevin's head.
"That's it!" Kevin blurted, and the five other rangers peered at him with expressions of hope and confusion. "I think I cracked the code. We just need the right ranger, with the right attack, in the right order!" He explained, pride evident in his tone. "We'll beat him as a team!"
"Speaking of team," Emily piped up, scanning the five other rangers. "Where's Antonio?" She asked, and Brooke and Jayden shared a look, raising their eyebrows.
Their childhood friend was a dork, yes, but he never missed battles intentionally. "If he's fishing, I'm going to scream," Brooke muttered as she took her samuraizer out of the pocket of Jayden's flannel. Flipping it open, she called Antonio, furrowing her brows when she got his voicemail.
"You know me, probably out fishing. Holla back." Antonio's voicemail stated, and Brooke sighed. She didn't even leave a message, just ending the call and flipping her samuraizer shut.
"I wonder what he's got himself into this time," Ji muttered, and Kevin let out a sigh.
"Seriously, that guy's a trouble magnet," Kevin remarked, setting the archive he was reading down on the table.
"Guys, he may be a jokester, but Antonio really takes this stuff seriously," Emily stated, rising from her seat. "He wouldn't just ignore our calls, he might be in real trouble." She stated, and Brooke nodded, rising from her seat as well.
The pain in her back instantly flared, and now her ribs throbbed as well, and the team picked up on Brooke's slight wince. "I can go track him down, it probably won't take long." She offered, and Jayden shook his head.
"You're hurt," Jayden instantly shut the idea down, and Brooke shot him a deadpan expression. "You were limping some on the way back, Brooke, don't give me that look." He chided, and Brooke's eyes flashed as she glanced at Jayden.
Brooke's first instinct was to go "try and catch me", and have Amaris take her to the pier, and she somewhat wanted to. But, Jayden was right, and she didn't really feel up to dealing with one of his lectures. "Alright, Red. Whatever you-" She was cut off her samuraizer, and Brooke let out a sigh as she flipped open the device. The gap sensor went off soon after, and the team instantly ran off, morphing as they ran through the gates.
--
The team skidded to a stop in front of the nighlok, who was rolling around in its ball form. Upon seeing the six rangers, the nighlok sprung up, laughing. "Haha, you fools again!" The monster sneered, rubbing its hands together excitedly.
"But this time we're shutting you down… hard." Mike threatened, and the nighlok only snickered.
"Ha! You're just showing how foolish you are, thinking you can win!" The nighlok taunted, rolling back up into its ball form and starting to roll towards the six rangers.
The six appeared nonchalant, Jayden resting his spin-sword on his shoulder as he spoke. "Time for Kevin's plan: phase one." He stated, and Mike and Emily got into position.
The green and yellow rangers flipped open their samuraizers, drawing two symbols. "Symbol Power: Barricade!" The two called in unison, activating the symbols. A large wall appeared, the wall being made of rocks that were held together with vines.
"That's right, you should hide!" The nighlok threatened, rolling right into the barricade Emily and Mike had made. It broke from the force, large stones falling on the nighlok, covering the monster with dirt and dust. "That was stone cold, rangers!" The monster exclaimed, wiping its face from where it laid on the ground.
"Us one, you nothing!" Mike cheered, sharing a congratulatory high-five with Emily.
"Now onto phase two," Jayden commanded, spinning the lion disk on his spin-sword. The blade burst into flames, and Brooke could feel the heat radiating off of the weapon from where she was standing. It made her wonder how Jayden dealt with it, as it was almost blistering.
"My wind-" Mia started, slashing with her sky fan and picking up wind.
"Will make my flames stronger!" Jayden finished, slashing with his spin-sword and sending the fire hurtling towards the nighlok, who had picked itself off of the ground. The attack caused the nighlok's shell to be lit on fire, but the monster seemed relatively unfazed, just shooting out witty remarks.
"Onto phase three."
Brooke stepped forward, opening her samuraizer and activating the brush portion. She started to draw a symbol and soon 満月 hung in the air in silver. "Let's strengthen this tide! Full Moon!" She called, activating the symbol. The symbol caused night to fall on Panorama, a full moon hanging in the sky in brilliant silver. The moon illuminated the six rangers, who, besides Brooke, let out murmurs of surprise.
Then, Kevin stepped forward, flipping open his samuraizer. "Ha, you still can't see the writing on the wall, can you nighlok?" He taunted, drawing a symbol, which hung in the air in a vibrant blue. "Time to make you come out of your shell! Tidal Wave!" Kevin activated the symbol, and a large tidal wave appeared.
The tidal wave, being strengthened by the full moon, crashed against the nighlok. The blue and silver rangers stepped back, flipping their samuraizers shut and putting them back into the pouches on their belts. The full moon symbol also ended, the sun also rising again quickly, and Brooke knew that civilians were losing their shit over it. Which was quite funny, in actuality.
"All you did was clean my indestructible shell! Thanks for the wash!" The nighlok sneered, pointing at the team as water dripped off of its body.
"You sure that's all we did?" Jayden questioned, and as if on cue, the nighlok's shell started cracking. The monster let out a wail in response to that, and the red ranger switched out the lion disk for a normal blank one. "Let's end this shell game!" He challenged, and Brooke drew her Wolf Kunai, settling into a fighting stance.
"Yup! Time to get cracking!" Kevin urged, and with that, the six rangers ran forward.
Jayden and Brooke fought side-by-side like they usually do, but even with the cracks in the nighlok's shell, it was difficult. After a couple of moments of struggle, the team regrouped, and Brooke felt her senses perk at the shift in energy. She quickly took out her samuraizer again, quickly drawing the protection symbol as the nighlok fired lasers from its eyes. "Protection!" Brooke yelled, activating the symbol just in time. The silver barrier absorbed the attack before it could hit the team, the silver ranger shutting her samuraizer and putting it back in its pouch.
"Guys, I think I can do this, if I can get to his shell without him noticing," Kevin stated, the blue ranger thinking up a battle strategy on the fly. Then, he turned his attention to the yellow ranger. "Emily, I'm going to need your help with this." He added, and Emily nodded.
"Whatever you need, I'm there!" Emily responded cheerfully, and Jayden handed the black box to Kevin.
"Super Samurai Mode should give you the power you need," Jayden explained, and Kevin took the talisman from the red ranger's gloved hand. "Finish your plan, Kevin. I know you can do it." He urged, and Kevin nodded.
"Thanks, Jayden! Emily, come with me." Kevin commanded, and the four others were tasked with keeping the nighlok busy.
As Jayden blocked the nighlok's arms, Brooke attacked its stomach, Mike and Mia attacking the monster's sides. The pink and green rangers grabbed the nighlok's arms, and it fired two blasts out of its eyes in retaliation. The silver and red rangers deflected the blasts with their blades.
"Symbol Power: Hole!" Emily yelled, drawing a symbol, and activating it. A hole appeared, and Kevin hopped into it, going into super samurai mode.
The white and gold forked cape materialized on the blue ranger as he emerged from the hole next to the nighlok. He landed attack after attack on the nighlok's shell, but it still wasn't enough. The nighlok rolled up into a ball and started bouncing, and Kevin somehow kicked it away. Which surely would've ended up in a broken foot, but it didn't, surprisingly. As the nighlok got kicked away, Kevin put the dragon disk in the black box, spinning the super samurai disk on his spin-sword.
"Dragon Disk: Super Spin-Sword Slash!" Kevin yelled out the final attack, slashing with his sword. The blue attack hit the nighlok and caused it to blow up in the sky, and the five other members congratulated the blue ranger.
After the nighlok appeared in its second form, the team went into megamode power. And without Antonio to form the wolf armor megazord, Brooke was just in her wolf zord, the mechanical wolf bouncing around. It presumably saw the nighlok as a giant tennis ball and wanted to play with it, letting out happy barks.
"Oh look, target practice!" The nighlok snickered, shooting lasers out of its eyes at the wolf zord. Which the mechanical wolf dodged with ease as the samurai megazord fired off its samurai strike attack.
The nighlok just spun around, and the attack hit its shell, not causing any damage. "Haha, no luck rangers! My shell is healed and as good as new! I'm invincible!" The nighlok sneered, rolling up in its ball form and launching itself through the air, hitting the wolf zord and the samurai megazord.
The wolf zord let out a pained whine when the nighlok slammed itself into the mechanical wolf, the cockpit shaking. Brooke grabbed onto the control panel for balance, gritting her teeth as she rooted her booted feet to the ground. Why they didn't do the shell-breaking combination, to begin with, was beyond Brooke, and she just accepted it as she regained her balance.
First, the original five formed the Beetle Blaster Megazord, Mike firing off an attack that shot fire at the nighlok. Forming the Swordfish Phaser Megazord, Kevin sent a large amount of water at the nighlok, which left the final attack.
"Samurai Artillery!" Brooke called, attaching the tiger disk to her control panel and spinning it. "Tiger Drill Megazord! Armed for Battle!" She finished as she appeared in the cockpit of the main megazord, folding up her megablade and sticking it into the control panel. Pushing her the joystick that was her folded megablade forward, Brooke fired off the Tiger Drill Charge attack, but it still wasn't enough.
Her and Jayden shared a look underneath their helmets, which was a mix of mutual annoyance. Brooke felt the familiar headache that was signaling she was low on symbol power starting to form, and when Kevin formed the Wolf and Claw Armor Samurai Megazord and the Samurai Battle Cannon, it only worsened. Still, it was going to be over soon.
"We've got a message for you, nighlok. It's time for you to hit the road." Jayden stated as he unfolded his megablade, and Brooke glanced at him, wearing a small smile underneath her helmet. He was cute.
The nighlok seemed unfazed, only letting out a mocking laugh. "Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots!" The monster mocked, and the five other rangers unfolded their megablades as well.
"This is no laughing matter, nighlok! Samurai Battle Cannon: Battle Cannon Blast!" Kevin yelled, firing off the attack. The attack successfully destroyed the nighlok, finally, the monster dying in a loud explosion.
"Samurai Rangers: Victory is Ours," Kevin called the finishing line, and with that, the battle was finally over.
--
Once on the ground and demorphed, Brooke was planning to just find Antonio and collect him, but that wasn't the case. Instead, she made a noise of surprise when Mia and Emily grabbed her arms, pulling her away from the rest of the team. Grey-gold eyes met blue, and Jayden only responded with raised eyebrows and a small smile. He shrugged, and Brooke let out a quiet groan of annoyance.
Once they were out of earshot from the guys, Mia and Emily let go of Brooke's arms. "What the hell was that about?" Brooke questioned, quirking a brow and her eyes flashing. Her body throbbed, and while she cared about the two girls, she really didn't want to deal with whatever this was right now.
"What's going on between you and Jayden?" Mia questioned, rather enthusiastically, and Brooke knit her brows, peering at the pink ranger quizzically.
"Nothing?" Brooke replied skeptically, her eyes flashing as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Where's this coming from?" She wondered- and she really wished this wasn't happening.
"You're wearing his flannel," Emily pointed out, and Brooke just raised her eyebrows in response. "And he praises you in battle a lot, and he's changed a lot since you've been on the team. Before he was just stoic and never really said anything, now he's all smiley around you." She added, and Brooke glanced back at Jayden, who was laughing faintly at a joke Mike made. He changed?
"We're friends, nothing more," Brooke replied softly, turning her attention back to the two girls. She didn't know how to feel about Jayden, really. Sure, they were physically affectionate to each other, but they were friends. That's all they could be because she was a soldier and he was her leader. Brooke knew that from the very beginning. "Anyways- I'm going to find Goldie, so, I'll meet up with you guys back at the Shiba House." She stated, and before Mia and Emily could say anything, she had disappeared in a flash of silver thanks to Amaris.
Brooke appeared in an alleyway in a flash of silver, hooking her thumbs on her belt loops. Silently thanking Amaris for getting her out of 50 questions with Emily and Mia, she started her walk to the pier. As she walked down the familiar streets, she turned over what Emily said in her mind. Had Jayden changed? He had opened up more because they were both significantly less stressed because Deker was gone. That usually helps with those kinds of things, and Jayden was just Jayden, and that was fine.
Letting out a groan, Brooke shook those thoughts out of her head, messaging her temple. The "low on symbol power" headaches didn't become any more bearable as time let out, and it felt like her skull was being split open. But, it could be dealt with, and the headache became secondary as she reached the pier. She spotted Antonio, but more importantly, she spotted Antonio's morpher.
It was just lying on the ground, and Brooke shook her head with a small smile as she walked over and picked it up. "Christ, Goldie." She muttered, walking over to Antonio. She knew her sparkly ranger in arms was going to get the lecture of his lifetime, and, knowing Antonio, he probably didn't even know it was gone.
Brooke tapped Antonio's shoulder lightly, and he jumped in surprise slightly. When he noticed it was Brooke, he took his headphones off his ears, breaking into a wide smile. "Hey!" He greeted, and she grinned.
"You dropped something." Brooke teased, lightly tossing Antonio his morpher. He caught it with ease, looking at Brooke gratefully.
"Woah, thanks," Antonio thanked, and Brooke raised her eyebrows, grinning. "Ji would kill me if I lost this thing." He remarked, and Brooke snorted.
"Oh, I think he just might. Or you're getting one of Red's infamous lectures," Brooke replied, and Antonio looked at her quizzically, then opened his morpher. The gold ranger's face paled slightly, and the silver snickered. "Yeah, you missed a nighlok- both times it attacked." She stated, and Antonio's eyes widened.
"Is everyone alright?" Antonio asked, and Brooke nodded, patting him on the shoulder.
"Let's just go home," Brooke answered with a small smile, and after Antonio packed up his fishing stuff, the gold and silver rangers walked side-by-side. "You're gonna get lectured to death." She teased, and Antonio shot a playful glare at her.
"Don't remind me," Antonio grumbled, and Brooke let out a bark of laughter, the two rangers walking down the streets of Panorama.